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mcsluggo · 10-03-2007, 11:24 AM

As has been said before by others... you kinda HAVE to wait a little while (get a little bit of job experience) before moving on with an MBA. More than ANY other degree, the value of an MBA is hugely dependent upon the quality/ranking of the institution you get it from (in some other cases, WHERE you got your degree can matter little, ESPECIALY after a couple of years out...)

Back to the first question... I also was an Econ undergrad (with CS also) and got a job as an economist straight out of school. THen after about 3 years went back to school and got my PhD (and masters along the way). I was married when I went back to school, but had no kids... and we were both amenible to living the poor but relatively care-free life. We didn't go into DEBT at all during those second school years, but we also didn't start saving for the future at all either (with masters and PhD programs you can OFTEN get some type of work/tuition help, and are much less likely to end up in debt than you are with an MBA/Law/MD degree... but the tradeoff is that the boost to your earning potential is also lower -- at least relative to law/MD)

My motivations for going back to school were clearly not the best ---I largely was just not ready to actually WORK for a living.... let me tell ya, work is for chumps! ... my time in grad school (which, btw, was MUCH longer than it SHOULD"VE been...stupid dissertation) was very enjoyable at first, and eventually trailed into an actual internalization of the need to get on and get a real job (and < shudder> even a DESIRE to do so). FOr the record, I did have my first child during my last year of grad school (and wife was preggo with the second)... but the desire to move on had already securely settled in.

I am now in international finance/economics. For my job, an appropriate masters/MBA probably would've been just as useful as my PhD... the doctorate gives me extra clout, but at the cost of not having generated the work experience during my slovenly years of slowly (not) writing a dissertation.

I am happy where I ended up... a good and interesting job with high earnings potential (If I move out of my CURRENT development oriented job and actually seek out the money... and the suck-ass, never see your kids working hours).... but if I had it all to do again, I honestly think I would go for the MD rather than the PhD (which I was SERIOUSLY considering at the time)... for my current line of work, I am kinda trapped with living in either Washington DC or NY/NY (in the US), on the other hand an MD is needed ANYWHERE

Anyway, just some semi-random thoughts.......after reading all of this, the only thing you should've actually taken away is..... "work is for chumps"

10-03-2007, 11:24 AM	#40
mcsluggo Golden Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: McLean, VA Posts: 1,970	As has been said before by others... you kinda HAVE to wait a little while (get a little bit of job experience) before moving on with an MBA. More than ANY other degree, the value of an MBA is hugely dependent upon the quality/ranking of the institution you get it from (in some other cases, WHERE you got your degree can matter little, ESPECIALY after a couple of years out...) Back to the first question... I also was an Econ undergrad (with CS also) and got a job as an economist straight out of school. THen after about 3 years went back to school and got my PhD (and masters along the way). I was married when I went back to school, but had no kids... and we were both amenible to living the poor but relatively care-free life. We didn't go into DEBT at all during those second school years, but we also didn't start saving for the future at all either (with masters and PhD programs you can OFTEN get some type of work/tuition help, and are much less likely to end up in debt than you are with an MBA/Law/MD degree... but the tradeoff is that the boost to your earning potential is also lower -- at least relative to law/MD) My motivations for going back to school were clearly not the best ---I largely was just not ready to actually WORK for a living.... let me tell ya, work is for chumps! ... my time in grad school (which, btw, was MUCH longer than it SHOULD"VE been...stupid dissertation) was very enjoyable at first, and eventually trailed into an actual internalization of the need to get on and get a real job (and < shudder> even a DESIRE to do so). FOr the record, I did have my first child during my last year of grad school (and wife was preggo with the second)... but the desire to move on had already securely settled in. I am now in international finance/economics. For my job, an appropriate masters/MBA probably would've been just as useful as my PhD... the doctorate gives me extra clout, but at the cost of not having generated the work experience during my slovenly years of slowly (not) writing a dissertation. I am happy where I ended up... a good and interesting job with high earnings potential (If I move out of my CURRENT development oriented job and actually seek out the money... and the suck-ass, never see your kids working hours).... but if I had it all to do again, I honestly think I would go for the MD rather than the PhD (which I was SERIOUSLY considering at the time)... for my current line of work, I am kinda trapped with living in either Washington DC or NY/NY (in the US), on the other hand an MD is needed ANYWHERE Anyway, just some semi-random thoughts.......after reading all of this, the only thing you should've actually taken away is..... "work is for chumps"